I’ve been a little quiet this month, partly because I was out on tour for most of the month and partly because there is so much crazy stuff going on it’s hard to even know what to write about.
First off, I just want to say what a BLAST I had on tour with Christopher Cross, Men at Work and the incredible TOTO this month! It was a special treat to get to play my hometown, Nashville, as my final show for this tour. My grandkids even got to see “Grandma” on stage, which kind of blew their minds! Here’s a little clip of my granddaughter, Charlotte, doing ALL the back-up moves to Ride Like the Wind! I think she’s getting ready to audition for my job! Ha!
All three of these groups were a treat to hang out with and travel with. Of course I was thrilled to be reunited with my CC road family. I love them all so much. And the whole Men at Work band and crew were absolutely PRECIOUS! Toto was… well… TOTO! They brought the crowds to their feet with their high-energy show - and the highlight each night was getting to come on stage to sing “Africa” with the whole crew! Here’s a little video of us singing at the Nashville show. You can see me on the end at the right hand side having the time of my life… lol. (special thanks to my friend Michele Sheriff for capturing this for me).
Now on to all the newsworthy stuff —
The top five trending topics on my social media feeds right now are:
The Cracker Barrel logo
Male cheerleaders in the NFL
The erasing of the “woke” exhibits in the Smithsonian
The passing of James Dobson
The Epstein files
Where do I even start?
Watching people lose their minds over the new Cracker Barrel logo has been hilarious. I mean, WHAT. IN. THE. WORLD??? Companies rebrand all the time without this much fuss. I see people mad about it that claim they don’t even eat at Cracker Barrel. Clearly it’s because they consider the rebranding “woke” and we all know that word has become Satan itself! It’s the silliest thing to be upset about. As long as they don’t mess with their chicken and dumplings, hashbrown casserole and cornbread recipes, I’m good with whatever. If Cracker Barrel wants to freshen up their look - LET THEM.
The other ridiculous uprising is over male cheerleaders in the NFL. The Minnesota Vikings announced that they are adding two male cheerleaders to their cheer squad this year and the conservatives are furious. Other squads have had male cheerleaders for awhile now, but it went mostly unnoticed. Again, the word “woke” comes up as people complain and vow to not watch the NFL - just like when Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem. Of course, all those people vowing to stop watching football are still watching football. People just LOVE to be mad at something. Especially Christians. If males want to cheer, LET THEM.
The other three issues I see trending are something I do feel it’s right to be concerned about.
Donald Trump posted a typical rant on his Truth Social page about changing the Smithsonian’s exhibits. Here are his words:
“The Museums throughout Washington, but all over the Country are, essentially, the last remaining segment of ‘WOKE.’ The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL, where everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been — Nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future. We are not going to allow this to happen, and I have instructed my attorneys to go through the Museums, and start the exact same process that has been done with Colleges and Universities where tremendous progress has been made. This Country cannot be WOKE, because WOKE IS BROKE. We have the ‘HOTTEST’ Country in the World, and we want people to talk about it, including in our Museums.”
There’s the “woke” word again, like it’s something bad. Call me woke, but I don’t think an exhibit that shows how bad slavery was is a bad thing. Slavery was bad, right? I meeeann… c’mon. How whitewashed does history need to get?
I don’t think Donald Trump even believes this rhetoric, but he knows how to create a non-crisis that will rile up his base, that’s for sure. Why don’t I believe him? Well, because in 2017, Trump praised the Smithsonian with these words:
“I’m deeply proud that we now have a museum that honors the millions of African American men and women who built our national heritage, especially when it comes to faith, culture and the unbreakable American spirit,” Trump said during remarks at the museum in February 2017. Later that month, Trump said the museum “tells of the great struggle for freedom and equality that prevailed against the sins of slavery and the injustice of discrimination.”
So what changed? Not the Smithsonian. Trump’s whole agenda is to keep the American people riled up about too many things all at once so that we can’t focus on the important issues — like maybe children starving in Gaza, innocent people being bombed in Ukraine, American citizens being unfairly kidnapped by ICE, the dismantling of our constitution and.. oh yeah, releasing the Epstein files.
And about those Epstein files. RELEASE THEM ALREADY. I don’t care who is in those things, republicans, democrats or royals — they should be held accountable. That’s all I have to say about that.
As far as the passing of James Dobson…. sigh. I’ve seen a few people praising him for his leadership through the years, but I’ve also seen many reflecting on the harm his teachings and bad theology has done to them and their families. Some have called him “The Godfather of child abuse.” (He wrote a book encouraging corporal punishment for misbehaving children among other harmful advice) Dobson was a great influencer of the religious right and the founder of the non-profit, Focus on the Family. No one can argue the wide-reaching impact he has had in many Christian communities. He was outspoken in his condemnation of abortion, homosexuality, divorce and the teachings of evolution. Some say he laid the groundwork for Trump’s grip on the GOP, when he backed him as President, excusing his behavior by calling him “a baby Christian.” I see many actually rejoicing in his passing. You can feel the deep hurt he has caused them in their “non-tributes” online. It’s clear that the wounds Dr. Dobson left behind are still seeping and far-reaching.
My friend, Stacey Wynn posted some thoughtful words after his passing on her FB page. With her permission, I’m sharing them here:
Amen, Stacey. Amen. Maybe he truly believed that his teachings were the correct ones. Who knows? But the harm he has inflicted on so many is real. I’ll always stand with victims of bigotry, misogyny, racism, homophobia and other abuses. Maybe Dr. Dobson now knows what true inclusive love feels like in the arms of God.
But let’s end on some GOOD NEWS, shall we? If you are in the Destin, FL area, I’ll be down there next month leading worship at a brand new church and I’d love for you to come join us if you can! My husband, Mike Waldron, and our dear friend Rob Harris will be with me. Come worship with us at Safe Harbor United Methodist Church on Sept 7th at 10am!
That’s enough for now. Thanks so much for reading and subscribing and being part of this little growing community. If you have thoughts on Cracker Barrel, James Dobson, male cheerleaders or any other hot topics, please leave a comment below. I love to hear what’s going through your heads these days too!
Much love always…. M
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Another good one, Marcia…As always!